Thich Nhat Hanh is a true bodhisattva -- "Enlightened Being." Some call him a Zen Master, but he really follows the Theravadan and original Pali Canon (the oldest known Buddhist teachings.) I first read his book on Anger, and that led me to his works on Mindfulness Practice. I think he has written over sixty books on meditation, Buddhist philosophy and peace. He's 82 now and banned from returning to his native Vietnam. Like the Dalai Lama, he lives in exile. I love his simple "Miracle of Mindfulness" booklet, first written as a lengthy letter to another monk regarding some practices that might be useful. How humble!
Of all the descriptions of inner peace and tranquility, I believe Thay's (as his student's call him) are the most powerful.
"Some students look upon meditation as toil. They want the time to pass quickly so they can get on with living or resting. But, if you cannot find peace, serenity and joy in these moments of sitting and being totally in the present, then the future will flow by like a river. You cannot hold it back. And, when the future arrives you will not be able to enjoy it either because it will become the present.
Joy and Peace are possible right now -- in this very moment. If you cannot find it here, you won't find it anywhere."
Can it be said any better, any clearer? I know this truth. It is hard to remember for oneself, much easier to think about for others. I tell an addictive friend that moving to another state will not solve his problems. He will just find those problems wherever he goes. Tonight I tell myself, taking my burdens and inability to write to Arizona will not solve it. I must solve it here. Wherever we go, there we are! I must find my Joy and Peace within. We all must.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Addiction
CNN is airing the program again tonight. If you missed it, watch it. Why? Because we're all addicts. Drinking, drugs, smoking, food, gambling and even sex addicts who can't stay away from online porn. Who can judge another's addiction?
Watching the program, I relived my own trauma of quitting smoking. I relapsed many times. Finally, through persistence, I have quit. I haven't had a "puff" for months now. I haven't smoked an entire cigarette for over two years -- 25 months. I quit in February 2007 out of fear.
I was told smoking was a huge contributor to my clogged arteries. Fear of dying was the only thing that could cause me to quit. And, even that didn't totally stop me. I was "clean" for about 6 months and then one day, I just couldn't take it and smoked a few puffs. I didn't buy a pack, I just smoked a few puffs from an old stale cigarette. It tasted awful and made me cough so I put it out. When I tried to write about not smoking, I always wanted one. So I couldn't tell my story or participate in the online "Quit" group. Every time I logged on I wanted one more than ever. I still can't watch the "Quit" commercials on TV. It makes me want to smoke. This is about as successful as I've been. Actually writing this on my desk computer without smoking. Sometimes I can't sit at this computer. Sometimes I can't even write -- still! I find new places to write. Quitting is that hard.
Not just smoking or drugs, but breaking ANY habit is painful. Creating new healthy ones is hard. It's work. It takes a lot of effort. I just did the math again. I have not smoked over 6 thousand cigarettes. So, if I've had a few in two years, it's nothing compared to the SIX thousand I have not smoked. We have to work at it every day. It's hard. We need to hear more success stories and those who relapse need to know we all relapse. It's those who keep trying that are successful.
Watching the program, I relived my own trauma of quitting smoking. I relapsed many times. Finally, through persistence, I have quit. I haven't had a "puff" for months now. I haven't smoked an entire cigarette for over two years -- 25 months. I quit in February 2007 out of fear.
I was told smoking was a huge contributor to my clogged arteries. Fear of dying was the only thing that could cause me to quit. And, even that didn't totally stop me. I was "clean" for about 6 months and then one day, I just couldn't take it and smoked a few puffs. I didn't buy a pack, I just smoked a few puffs from an old stale cigarette. It tasted awful and made me cough so I put it out. When I tried to write about not smoking, I always wanted one. So I couldn't tell my story or participate in the online "Quit" group. Every time I logged on I wanted one more than ever. I still can't watch the "Quit" commercials on TV. It makes me want to smoke. This is about as successful as I've been. Actually writing this on my desk computer without smoking. Sometimes I can't sit at this computer. Sometimes I can't even write -- still! I find new places to write. Quitting is that hard.
Not just smoking or drugs, but breaking ANY habit is painful. Creating new healthy ones is hard. It's work. It takes a lot of effort. I just did the math again. I have not smoked over 6 thousand cigarettes. So, if I've had a few in two years, it's nothing compared to the SIX thousand I have not smoked. We have to work at it every day. It's hard. We need to hear more success stories and those who relapse need to know we all relapse. It's those who keep trying that are successful.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Zillion is the new Billion
I turned off the tube because I'm sick of bad news, and maybe I'll just leave it off all week. A week without news -- imagine that. 1) it keeps me from writing and editing my novel. Words of William Gibson stick in my mind. During an interview someone asked how he could write and publish so many sci-fi thrillers. He said, "I don't own or watch TV. Reading and writing is my entertainment." That blew me away. Think of how much more writing (and reading) I would do with those 6 - 8 hours of tube-time.
2) It's so damn depressing. I wake up, do some meditation and yoga to get my mind focused and in a good place, then turn on the tube and there it is -- more mass murders, mayhem and of course the missing Trillions. Millions, billions and now Trillions of dollars just leaking away through corporate mismanagement and government attempts to prop up those corrupt corps. It just feels hopeless. As much as I trust President Obama, Fed Master Bernanke and even Geithner, it's like throwing gi-normous wads of cash into a black hole. And, I mean GI-normous. I already gave examples of how much a Trillion is (spending a million dollars every day since the birth of Jesus Christ is still NOT a Trillion.)
It's like the world is hell-bent on re-enacting history. First the extreme excesses that led to the Great Depression, now shanty towns and soup lines for the unemployed and finally I guess we'll see wheelbarrows of cash (like post WWII Germany) to buy a loaf of bread. All of this because greedy SOBs could not live within their means or on "reasonable" salaries. I am bone weary of hearing how our outraged populism is bad. Well, to those who were making 400 times what their employees earned FU. And, to those who were profiting from the "toxic mortgages" FU, too. You caused this mess, and now you need to spend 24/7 figuring out how to fix it. Because that's what is really bad. What if a Trillion or two won't fix it?
Meanwhile, I am turning off the tube. I can't fix it and thinking about it every day is unhealthy. If you have a better idea, post away.
2) It's so damn depressing. I wake up, do some meditation and yoga to get my mind focused and in a good place, then turn on the tube and there it is -- more mass murders, mayhem and of course the missing Trillions. Millions, billions and now Trillions of dollars just leaking away through corporate mismanagement and government attempts to prop up those corrupt corps. It just feels hopeless. As much as I trust President Obama, Fed Master Bernanke and even Geithner, it's like throwing gi-normous wads of cash into a black hole. And, I mean GI-normous. I already gave examples of how much a Trillion is (spending a million dollars every day since the birth of Jesus Christ is still NOT a Trillion.)
It's like the world is hell-bent on re-enacting history. First the extreme excesses that led to the Great Depression, now shanty towns and soup lines for the unemployed and finally I guess we'll see wheelbarrows of cash (like post WWII Germany) to buy a loaf of bread. All of this because greedy SOBs could not live within their means or on "reasonable" salaries. I am bone weary of hearing how our outraged populism is bad. Well, to those who were making 400 times what their employees earned FU. And, to those who were profiting from the "toxic mortgages" FU, too. You caused this mess, and now you need to spend 24/7 figuring out how to fix it. Because that's what is really bad. What if a Trillion or two won't fix it?
Meanwhile, I am turning off the tube. I can't fix it and thinking about it every day is unhealthy. If you have a better idea, post away.
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